USAFChief

Farrell has a lower FIP.

Chiming in late: glad to see Molitor find a way to get his effective LHer into a 1-5 game, and his ineffective LHer into a tie game.

Hunter with a HR. That should piss a few posters off.

Thank you. The entire "well, yeah, the Twins are in contention NOW, but they won't be and shouldn't act as if they will be" is maddening to me, in the extreme. Acually, maddening isn't a strong enough word.

I hope so, but I wonder. Let's hope we find out.

Congratulations.

Not only are there really no FA options, there won't be a better player available, at less cost, than Tulowitzki. And he passed on that, so it's difficult for me to understand how he's going to be aggressive this winter.

May has no history as a "good" starter. Nor as an elite reliever, either. I agree. So we're both guessing as to where he'd be most effective going forward.

For 2015, sure. But long term, I don't view Dozer as a legit 3 hitter either. He's a very good player. Just not an elite hitter.

Yeah, but my uneducated, way-too-easy, from-a-distance thought process goes way beyond a negotiation tactic. I wonder if he tries as hard as he can to avoid the whole process.

Yeah, I understand that plan too. For me it's a close call, but I really think May can be more valuable as a dominant reliever than a not-too-shabby starter. And that's what I think he ends up as, if a starter. We need some dominant starting pitching, I don't disagree with that idea. Just not sure May is it.

OK, fair enough. Sincere apologies. I sometimes get too focused on the trees to see the forest. I will say though that I still think explaining away the lack of trade activity to "too difficult" probably isn't true, and in any case isn't any kind of legitimate excuse even if it is true.

Maybe KC should move Davis back to the rotation too, since starters are always more valuable than relievers, regardless the results.

1. Having vented about the lack of Twins trade activity for a couple weeks now, I thought I would actually put some thought into it. I've really got nothing, but I've been kicking around the idea that at the end of the day, maybe this part of his job is just something Terry Ryan doesn't like doing. it's distasteful to him. He simply doesn't enjoy the negotiations, the back and forth, working multiple angles, trying to get the better of the other 29 GMs in the game. I wonder if maybe he makes a phone call--and only when really forced into the position of having to make a call, or answer one--makes an offer he considers fair, and then if the answer isn't "yes," he hangs up the phone and moves on. Because really, at the end of the day...he simply doesn't do much trading. Of any kind. Deadline, offseason, whatever. 2. For as weak as the bullpen is, I've come to the conclusion the Twins biggest need going forward is a middle of the order hitter. I don't know if the Twins/Molitor have the courage to move Mauer out of the middle of the order, but they need to, and they need to find someone who can hit there. Mauer isn't that guy. Love him, hate him, or something in between, today's game was an illustration of just how awful the Twins are when it comes to a number three hitter. Nelson Cruz has a .950 OPS. On a 3-0 pitch, late in a scoreless tie, he gets the green light, because he SHOULD get the green light. He's a dangerous hitter. He shouldn't have been pitched to in that situation. Because... He's a legit big league 3 hole hitter. Put the shoe on the other foot. Would any team worry about throwing a cookie to Mauer in that same situation? Would he even swing? If he did, would he do anything more than perhaps a double to left, if lucky? There's no reason NOT to throw a fastball down the middle. Because...he's not a legit big league 3 hole hitter. Mauer's not coming out of the lineup, and he shouldn't, at least until they have 9 better hitters. But for heaven's sake, if he's hitting third in your lineup, you have problems. Maybe Sano can be the 4 hole guy, but they need to find one or two real, actual middle of the order guys. The lack of them is a big reason why this team is really prone to extended scoring droughts. 3. I am of the opinion Trevor May's best path to success going forward is to leave him in the pen. He might or might not be an above average starter. He's got the stuff to be a really, really valuable bullpen piece. We all want hardthrowing, late game strikeout guys in the pen, preferably with control. Well, they have one. Or could have one, if they t would give him the job. Trevor May. 4. I'm not sure which I disagree with more: the lack of any legit attempt to fix the bullpen either internally or externally, or that fact it's August and Shane Robinson is still on the Twins bench. Today he's in the lineup, against a RH pitcher. That's not something a team needs to do voluntarily.

"...just because we can imagine a better trade package we would accept doesn't mean that it's what the other team wants. Completing a trade in real life isn't a video game, there are a myriad of factors at play. Judging success or failure merely by whether a deal gets done or not is quite naive and unfair. And I'd say that is doubly so at the deadline." I thought our exchange was about whether or not it's difficult to make trades.

I can't shake the belief he's tipping his pitches. Nobody is ever surprised by a pitch anymore. Even swings and misses are well timed. As for today, no matter what, you simply can't throw that pitch to Cruz. Once it gets to 2-0, you put him on and take your chances. 2 outs in a tie game? There's zero chance he doesn't have a green light.

I don't see much of the "other extreme," but if you're not defending Ryan, what exactly are you doing? This started with a post saying trades are too difficult to execute. Well, that's demonstrably false, so if they're too difficult for Ryan, that's a reason to fire him, no?

"Effectively wild" was the phrase used by TR, I believe.

Morris: "I don't get it." ditto.

like starting Robinson against a RHer?

Or swap Robinson for Arcia. Either way.

Well, they can't do all three. They can't move May to the rotation, bring back up a hitter, AND give Rogers a looksee. That'd result in a 26 man roster.

Hey everyone! I missed last night's game...how bad'd we lose? I got some sad news Friday. My granddaughter got suspended from school. Apparently, the teacher was asking a series of questions: "And what do we get from the chicken?" "Eggs!" "And from the pig?" "Bacon!!" "How about from the cow?" "Homework."

This thread: http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/simpsons-hollywood-star-stars-los-angeles-35805126.jpg

I thought we were talking about how hard it was to make trades.